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The role of community psychology in Christian community development
Author(s) -
Eccleston Sara M. Perisho,
Perkins Douglas D.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.585
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1520-6629
pISSN - 0090-4392
DOI - 10.1002/jcop.22121
Subject(s) - empowerment , faith , community psychology , community development , sociology , community organization , sense of community , public relations , epistemology , psychology , social psychology , social science , political science , law , philosophy
This project examines the connections between community psychology and faith‐based community development. We investigate whether and how 4 major principles of community psychology—neighboring, sense of community, empowerment, and citizen participation—are found in the theory and philosophy of practice of the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA), a national faith‐based community development network. We employ content analysis of four official CCDA publications to identify whether and how these four principles are embedded in the organization's espoused principles of practice. Our findings are as follows: (a) All four principles are found within CCDA theory and philosophy of practice, with the greatest emphasis on neighboring and sense of community and a less robust application of empowerment and citizen participation; (b) CCDA primarily focuses on the individual‐level impact of these principles; and (c) CCDA Bases their application of these principles in Christian scripture and tradition. Our results indicate that the field could be strengthened by examining religious approaches to these principles and considering how organizations engage these concepts in both the theory and the practice. Additionally, faith‐based organizations may foster a more effective application of these concepts in their social change efforts by partnering with community researchers and practitioners.